The Kane archetype

[Kuroyagi]

I have been reading some fiction recently in which the Ka(i)n/e character features strongly and only recently realized that this is in fact and indeed ;) a powerful form of archetype. If anyone knows some other works/references apart from those Im going to mention please post them (also personal insights etc of course).

The most obvious is of course the biblical
-Kain and Abel story

Then I encountered him again in Robert E. Howards stories about the Puritan Fanatic
-Solomon Kane

And recently I read (as seen in my picture post) the best representant so far:
-Kane by Karl Edward Wagner. (an immortal warrior cum sorcerer who has been created by an imbecile god with whom he contends (very "satanic" motif there), a ruthless nasty character with red hair and stinging blue eyes (his "mark" of the beast)...

Last but not least: Kain as re-created by ex-poster Oazaki/Seb. here...(Seb. could you -if you're reading this and have some time- give me a short 1p. outline of "your" Kain via mail or on your forum- resp. direct me to it?)...this is more like a kick ass martial demi god it seems- yet the ruthlessness is also a common trait, a "Black Buddha" as the poster Naomi said- whatever that means- is that some kind of Anti-Boddhisatva I wonder? lol.

Anyway, fascinating character here- my hopes arent high that anyone has actually even ever seen these parallels of that type in the various fictional works I mentioned but if one has or knows more (preferably not too much occultish BS but rather some other good sources or at least entertaining stories or art), then I'd be glad hearing from you.

p.s. didnt know where to post this- comparative mythology, or psychology would have been good if available but since the OT-Kain is very left-handed (which he actually also is in Wagners stories) I posted it here.

[Naomi]

I think Kane is like Nergal:

"and the men of Cuth made Nergal"

"The cult of Nergal does not appear to have spread as widely as that of Ninurta, but in the late Babylonian and early Persian period, syncretism seems to have fused the two divinities, which were invoked together as if they were identical."

- Wikipedia

Nergal is associated with fire, pestilence, the negative sun, the desert, and oops, look at that, he's the chief of the secret police of hell...not Ningishzidda.

Sorry Ning! :D

"Ordinarily Nergal pairs with his consort Laz. Standard iconography pictured Nergal as a lion, and boundary-stone monuments symbolise him with a mace surmounted by the head of a lion."

Oh now ok I didn't know this, I was getting very strong iconography of a Lion around the same time Nergal was getting entangled in my mind. Scorpion too, but we all have heard of manticores, havn't we?

I sort archetypes out on intuition usually, and Kane definately feels like Nergal...not too friendly but not really an enemy I think. Hmm...

Could be wrong though..

[Carbon Class Six]

Wow, strange timing...last time I worked for some odd reason I started thinking about a saying that my mom used "raising Kane," to describe causing trouble. I may have been thinking along the lines of archetypes when I thought of this as most sayings are just semantics or exaggerations of common occurances but "raising Kane," really stuck out in my mind in a sort of looming fashion.

[Kuroyagi]

Thats good- the red mane of Wagners Kane also fits the lion...(I also like the "mark" in his stories: the stinging blue eyes in that noone can look but a split second: cause they reflect death...blue is an interesting choice here cause it could also hint to the underworld and the waters...) I think that Nergal is the destructive component of illness and Ninurta is a bit more beneficial like more "Asclepius"/healer like yet of course also with a nasty touch, more the good side of illness...

CCS: a fun saying but maybe Kane neednt be raised cause hes doomed to walk among us- as one of us- even to this day as some form of reminder..well, yeah- archetype also....

[deviadah]

Abel was too caned to be able to talk to Kain!

(caned = english slang for stoned)

© deviadah

:p

Also Kain and Abel is an anagram of Anal Bank Die!

Hope this is not too much silliness...

[Kuroyagi]

No, no dont worry...lol..

Other modern fantasy authors (not to speak of ppl like Byron and Colleridge) who were fascinated by Cain/Kane or at least created stories using that character-type were e.g. John Collier and Manly Made Wellman...

From an inner-myth-perspective its no wonder that Cain is of bad standing with the Biblical God and his followers, its like as if you asked Zeus or the Olympians about Prometheus..

[mantis]

Hypotheticly speaking suppose one was cursed to walk the earth incarnation after incarnation.What could you do to change that.